A Case of Depression Treated with Coccus Cacti

October 4, 2018

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A 28-year-old patient consulted Dr. Rajan Sankaran for clinical depression on 27th February 2015. She was suffering for the past 6 months and complained offeeling sadness on waking with palpitations. She had an urge to talk to someone and would feel awful as if she hadawoken with too much tension. This cycle repeated every morning: palpitations, tension and an awful feeling, whereshe would feel better towards bedtime. These symptoms made her very impatient. The feeling was as though something was going down her chest and she experienced weakness in her legs. She would jump with noise and weep without any reason. She would dwell too much on what others said and why. Due to these reasons, she disliked waking up every day.

When asked further about her experience of being in this situation, she explained it was as if a rope was across her chest being drawn backwards; there was heaviness and feelings of being tied, not being balanced and going up and down. In the past, she had suffered a bad break up, whichcame to her as a shock.The feeling was as if everything got stuck in her throat and in her chest with heaviness, and wanting to bring it all out.

When she was asked to tell more about herself, she said she was a dependent person and always wanted people to hug her. Despite her relationship being over, she was not able to get over it. She had a strong desire to have sex, especially when she was sad but could not. She was unable to get over this man; she just could not leave it alone and forget about him. Poor concentration, forgetfulness with no hope, no ambition, hatred towards herself and weeping all the time affected her a lot. She could not relax and was very restless. She wanted to bring out her anger by either shouting out loud or breaking things.

She was afraid of almost everything. She wanted to be hugged and that made her feel relaxed. Due to this nature, she was losing friends. She could not stay alone for a single day and was dependent on people all the time. She had immense anger within and she could not bring it out. She was afraid of the dark and ghosts. She would sleep with lights on.

She dreamt of her ex-boyfriend frequently, where he comes and hugs her. She felt safe and relaxed in the dream. She always felt relaxed and safe with him but he was lying to her about his wife and family. She felt he treated her badly and she experienced much anger with a feeling of getting revenge. In one incident, he told her he was going to die.Momentarily, she felt happy after listening to that but she hated herself for the same. She wanted to get rid of him or slap him to express her anger. She also wanted to be with someone else.

When asked about her favorite colors, she said earlier she was fond of blue but lately she liked red.

Analysis of the Case

If we have to simply repertorize the case, we may come to remedies like Lachesis, Phosphorous or Ignatia as we can see in the chart below:

However, we must ask: is the patient Lachesis, Phosphorous or Ignatia?

To understand further, we need to find out what is most peculiar about the case and look the patient holistically rather than simply considering the symptoms.

Let us understand some important aspects of the case:

The energy of this patient isrestless, hyper, talkative, sexual, and revengeful; theme of killing. We know that such a pattern is exhibited by Insect remedies.

The patient’s sadness is very specific. It comes in the morningon waking and throughout the afternoon, only easing up before bedtime.

It is peculiar at her age, she has a strong need for hugging; even in her dream we see that her ex-boyfriend is hugging her and being very affectionate (which she likes)

Some additional importantaspects in case include:

Sexuality

Loquacity

Restless

Busy

Revenge

Hyperactive

All of these qualities point towards the Animal Kingdom

When we take a look atReference Works Software:

We find that Coccus cacti is the only medicine.

When we look at Phatak’s Materia Medica, we find:

On Repertorizing the dreams:

Interestingly, we see Coccus Cacti coming up again. In this peculiar dream of her ex-boyfriend, he would come and hug her and comfort her. She felt safe and relaxed in the dream, and similarly, in reality she would have the same feeling whenever she was with him.

We know Coccus cacti belongs to the sub-kingdom Insecta, specifically theCoccidae family. The remedy is made from the insect who infests the cactus plant.

When this patient was asked about her favorite color she said red. Interestingly, this insect produces a red dye/carmine dye. In this case, we can see a connection of the patient with the source.

The following are some distinguishing features of insects:

Busy

Restless

Need to change place

Stinging

Talkative

Short life span

Sexuality

Shameless

The patient received Coccus cacti 10M, 1 dose followed by SL.

Follow Up 6 months later in August’ 2015

The patient came and explained, that she was feeling better and was calmer. She was not thinking as much as before either. She slept much better and could remain alone at night. She has become more relaxed and cool, and does not have much tension. Her control over her thoughts has also improved. I am feeling much better. The symptoms of palpitation, tension, and chest pain is totally gone. Her mood is much better in the afternoon and at night.

Currently, she is taking no allopathic medicines. Her appetite is good and her other physical symptoms like knee and ankle pain had gone. She is also thinking less about her boyfriend and is happy about the results.

About:

Dr. Rajan Sankaran MD (Hom), FS (Hom)(UK)

Dr.Rajan Sankaran is internationally renowned as a clear thinker and is known for his path breaking concepts. He has been awarded a Fellowship of the Society of Homeopaths (U.K.). He has authored several books like, The Synergy in Homoeopathy, The Spirit of Homoeopathy, The Substance of Homoeopathy, The Soul of Remedies, and many others. He has also created a Homeopathic case taking and analysis software Vital Quest.